graig woodburn

The Hat Trick: Bruins Shouldn't Feel Bad About This One

There was no reason for Tim Thomas and the Bruins to be punching any walls after this one.

Yes, Thomas yielded goals to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the opening rounds of the shootout resulting in a 5-4 Chicago Blackhawks victory over the Bruins, Friday.

Yes, the loss was the third in the row (0-2-1) for the B’s.

Yes, there were defensive breakdowns.

But after 65 minutes of inspired hockey Thomas and the Bruins were right there with the highly-talented Blackhawks Friday. That’s not a bad place to be.

On a night when the skated with a depleted defense, trailed three times but fought back to tie the game and needed to rely on a 40-save effort by Thomas, the Bruins showed the resiliency, depth and necessary character that will be a key element in any plan for emerging among the NHL elite this season.

“You need a perfect game to beat Chicago,” Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters. “We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them. I’m happy the way our team came back and at least we salvaged a point, because we knew coming in here that Chicago’s a tough team to play at home. But at least we were able to get a point.”

Here are three things to take away from an entertaining night of hockey in the Windy City:

YOUNG BRUINS DEFENSEMEN WERE TESTED, BUT RESPONDED WELL

After making a run to the conference finals last year and continuing with strong play this season the Blackhawks have left little doubt they are a serious Stanley Cup contender.

Hockey fans in Chicago have responded accordingly, Friday’s contest was the Blackhawks 69th consecutive sellout and they have the best home record in the NHL (15-4).

Against this backdrop, the Bruins hit the ice in Chicago with the additional challenge of skating without two key defenseman, as both Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman were sidelined with injuries.

Stuart suffered a broken sternum in Monday’s 3-1 loss to the Flyers. Wideman also left that contest and did not travel to Chicago because of an upper body injury.

That meant Adam McQuaid and Andy Wozniewski were summoned from Providence, with Wozniewski jumping into the Bruins lineup for the first time Friday.

It also meant that Boychuk would see a lot more ice time and he responded well, scoring a key goal in third period, finishing the night with a plus-three rating while logging over twenty minutes of play.

Boychuk had been a healthy scratch for most of the opening months of the season. But after stepping to replace a struggling Matt Hunwick two weeks ago, Boychuk has now delivered two goals.

With Chicago holding a 3-2 lead in the third, Boychuk one-timed a pass from Bergeron past Hawks goalie Anti Niemi to draw Boston even.

MIXED RESULTS IN THE MIDDLE

While Krejci was scoring two goals and Bergeron was mixing two assists with a plus-three rating, Marc Savard was held without a point for a fourth straight game and the fifth time in six games. He also failed to generate a shot on goal.

The good news is of course the depth the B’s have at center. The bad news is that any plan for the Bruins to fight for the division title will involve strong play from Savard and he needs to find a spark.

Perhaps Saturday’s return match with the Toronto Maple Leafs will help. Savard had a hat trick against the Leafs two weeks ago.

THOMAS IS GETTING THERE

He would certainly like to take a mulligan on the shootout, but Thomas was generally sharp Friday, making 40 saves and helping the Bruins stay within a single goal of the Hawks throughout the contest.

“We showed a lot of character and played well in coming back,” Thomas told reporters. “On the shootout, my timing was a little off on both of them, I thought I had stopped Kane’s shot but it trickled through.”

Still it was positive step for Thomas against a tough opponent.

“Chicago’s a great team with a lot of talent, and right now they’re probably playing the best in the NHL,” Thomas said.

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